The high expectations of a bizarre twist at Watkins Glen ruined Chase Elliott’s day. Amid the anxiety of must-win scenarios, Elliott kicked off the Go Bowling race from a surprisingly lackluster P15 on the grid. However, a series of unexpected turns and a monumental blunder by his Hendrick Motorsports team left hopes shattered.

Elliott had been holding onto 8th place, but then he abruptly lost both intensity and speed. As he gradually came to a stop midway at the bus stop, it became evident that he had run out of fuel. In a recent analysis, a NASCAR insider and former crew chief delved into the issue, shedding light on the true cause behind the miscalculation.

This miscalculation has added yet another layer of pressure to Hendrick Motorsports‘ Golden Boy for the upcoming Daytona race.

“Alan was very aggressive”, Larry McReynolds says, exposing Hendrick Motorsports’ blunder

During the NASCAR Race Hub show, Larry McReynolds highlighted a critical point about Alan Gustafson’s bold approach and his unconcern for fuel readings, which ruined a golden opportunity for Chase Elliott.

Larry said, “When you are in the situation we were in going into that race you have to be aggressive. You have to be against the edge but I just can?t make the numbers connect the fuel window was about 34 to 36 laps for yesterday easily a two-stop race now Alan was very aggressive He pitted at lap 17.

What he had to do right there is make two runs one more stop at lap 36 and 37 laps he ran out on the 38th lap.”

Drawing attention to the “reserve tank,” a component of the Next Gen cars’ fueling system that carries enough fuel to reach the pit stops.

The racing analyst expressed his confusion and bewilderment and referred to an incident on the radio where Alan was heard saying, “Throw the switch and you?ve got three more laps.”

To this McReynolds strongly disagreed, providing logical reasoning that running three laps (7.5 miles) on a gallon of fuel would be implausible on the road course. He characterized the situation as “just a huge mistake and huge miscalculation.”

Adding to the analysis, another NASCAR insider stated, ?This is the final nail in the coffin for the #9 team when they run out of gas and know that they had a car that could win this thing just kind of added insult to Hendrick.?

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With the missed victory at Watkins Glen, the spotlight now turns to the last chance at Daytona. Interestingly, Chase Elliott has yet to secure a Daytona win with Hendrick Motorsports. Could he possibly emerge as the wild card this year? However, one of the NASCAR Insiders doubts that.

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In the same broadcast, the NASCAR insider delved into Chase Elliott’s performance following his suspension. Notably, he consistently secured positions within the top 5 every week. However, there was a noticeable dip in his performance after that, and one of the insiders pinpointed the underlying cause

One of them mentioned, ?It seems like as the pressure has built the results have fallen a little bit outside of the Indy Road Course I just feel like the pressure hate to say it has gotten him a little bit on the point of execution and they?re going to have to be perfect if they want to win at Daytona.?

READ MORE: Chase Elliott?s Failure to Make the Playoffs at Daytona Could Mark the Beginning of His End